As they stood on the flying spirit artifact, Lin Daqiao began to explain the details to Li Yan. The Mission Hall was, as Li Yan had once guessed, situated within the dense bamboo forest on the rear mountain. There were three types of missions available on Little Bamboo Peak: watering Spirit Plants, raising demonic beasts, and preparing food for demonic beasts. Li Yan could understand the first two, but the last one struck him as odd.
Apart from consuming the raw flesh of other demonic beasts and some Spirit Plants, certain demonic beasts were special. They required large quantities of Spirit Food for nourishment. If such a demonic beast were to grow in the wild, it would have to spend its days searching for sustenance suitable for its constitution. However, since these were being raised artificially, some of their specific dietary needs couldn't be consistently supplied. This created a need for their food to be separately concocted or prepared to ensure their proper growth.
As they spoke, they arrived among the bamboo of the rear mountain. The two landed and retrieved their spirit artifacts. Lin Daqiao, navigating with practiced ease, headed down a narrow path. Seeing this, Li Yan opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, but finally asked the question on his mind. "Seventh Senior Brother, there are so many small paths in this bamboo forest. I assume the ones marked with Stone Markers lead to the Mission Hall and the mission areas. Though there are only a few such paths, these Stone Markers have no words or pictures. For a newly entered disciple, it must be easy to get confused. Can't we add some kind of sign?" This question had been on his mind for several years without an answer, and today, he could no longer contain his curiosity.
"It seems Little Junior Brother has walked these paths before. Signs, you say? There are signs," Lin Daqiao replied. Hearing Li Yan's question, he couldn't help but turn to give him a strange look. He thought to himself, 'You said you didn't know where the Mission Hall was, so I brought you here. But you can mention the Stone Markers, which means you should know something. So why do you look so clueless in the end? Who was it that explained things to you, and why didn't they explain it clearly?' How could he know that Li Yan frequently came to the rear mountain, but ever since Gong Chenying's warning, he had never again entered a path marked by a Stone Marker? He glanced toward the peak's summit and then spoke in a very low voice.
"There are four such paths here, as I'm sure you've figured out. They correspond to the three mission sites and the Mission Hall. However, the small Stone Markers at the trailheads were scattered here by the great Heaven Stele." At this, he lowered his voice even further.
"This great Heaven Stele is a massive stone stele on the plaza about fifty li up from here. It was originally a magical artifact meant to suppress the entrance to the harvesting Secret Realm. But after tens of thousands of years of being washed by the spiritual energy of Little Bamboo Peak, plus the interaction of different spiritual energies from within the Secret Realm during the month-long periods when the passage is open, an Artifact Spirit slowly came into being within it. I've heard its cultivation is now at the terrifying level of at least mid-stage Golden Core. But it's best we don't talk about it. It has a bad temper, and our current location is within its domain. If it hears us, we'll both likely suffer for it. Also, Little Junior Brother, you must not get too close out of curiosity. Its temperament is far too unpredictable." Having said this, Lin Daqiao looked up toward the mountain again with some concern, then added another worried warning for Li Yan.
Hearing this, Li Yan was first stunned. To think that the stone stele that had made him vomit blood and injured him was actually a magical artifact, and one that had gained sentience at that! A stone that could develop intelligence like a human… the world of cultivation was truly full of wonders. He could believe that demonic beasts or other living races could cultivate, but now, even a lifeless stone could become a cultivator.
The other thing that shocked him was that the passage to the Secret Realm was right here on Little Bamboo Peak. None of this was recorded in the classic texts.
A wry smile then touched his lips. How could he not know that the Heaven Stele had a bad temper? It was a truly terrible temper. He hadn't even gotten a clear look at it before he was spitting up mouthfuls of blood, and it had taken him two full days of recuperation to recover.
Seeing Li Yan's silence and fearing he didn't believe him, Lin Daqiao whispered again, "Little Junior Brother, it's true. That Heaven Stele has a bizarre temper. Originally, there were four inscribed stone steles on these four paths to mark them. But ever since the Heaven Stele gained sentience, it decided that no other steles should exist here—only small stones. So it used its divine power to destroy the four steles and scattered four small, flat stones in their place. These four stones later came to be known as the Stone Markers. From this, you can see how peculiar its personality is."
"The markings now are the cracks on their surfaces. One crack is the Mission Hall, two cracks is the Spirit Plant Garden, three cracks is the Spirit Food Garden, and four cracks is the Spirit Beast Garden. In a moment, when you enter the Mission Hall, you'll see that the mission slips with a 'two' are for missions in the Spirit Plant Garden, and a 'three,' of course, corresponds to the Spirit Food Garden."
Li Yan was dumbfounded. The signs were actually cracks? How tyrannical was this Heaven Stele! Not only did it forbid the existence of other steles, but it even made them crack. It seemed he would have to stay far away from this Heaven Stele in the future. If he accidentally provoked it, with its terrifying cultivation, he would only be a few dozen li away in his bamboo courtyard. Crushing him would be as easy as playing with a toy. He could end up with a few cracks on his own body.
After hearing all this, Li Yan's expression changed several times. Lin Daqiao knew he was convinced and finally straightened his back, saying loudly, "Let's go, Little Junior Brother. It's just ahead."
Only then did Li Yan notice they had arrived at the entrance of a small path. He paused for a moment to carefully examine the foot-high Stone Marker. There was indeed a single crack on it, though it looked entirely natural. He couldn't help but rub his nose.
On the path, they encountered a few other cultivators, who were clearly from the other peaks, coming to turn in or accept missions. They seemed to be quite familiar with Lin Daqiao, greeting him one after another, but they merely smiled and nodded at Li Yan. For the past few years, Li Yan had gone nowhere but Little Bamboo Peak, and even there, he had been engrossed in bitter cultivation, unlike Lin Daqiao who not only roamed around Little Bamboo Peak but also frequently visited the other peaks.
Before long, the two reached the end of the path. It was just like the end of the path where Li Yan had seen his cold and stunning Sixth Senior Sister, a grove of dense bamboo. The only difference was that this place was clearly more crowded. From time to time, the bamboo would distort and ripple, and a person or a group would emerge. Lin Daqiao glanced at Li Yan's waist and, without a word, walked straight into the bamboo wall. Ripples spread, and he vanished into the forest.
Li Yan showed a strange expression at this but followed suit, stepping into the bamboo. The moment he entered the grove, his vision blurred, and it felt as if he had arrived in a multicolored space. He felt the token at his waist tremble slightly. He quickly looked down and saw a streak of rosy light retract from the mist, and then the token returned to normal. The next moment, his vision cleared, and he found himself standing in a wide, open clearing. Further ahead, a massive bamboo house stood in the center, and his Seventh Senior Brother was standing at its main gate, smiling at him.
By now, Li Yan understood how to enter the Mission Hall. It was done via the token. This way, those who were not disciples of the sect would be unable to enter. The sect tokens had been claimed by dripping blood on them; even if someone else obtained one, they would be unable to use it.
There seemed to be quite a few people here. In just a short while, more than a dozen people had gone in and out. Li Yan quickened his pace, reaching the steps before the bamboo house's main gate, and stood beside Lin Daqiao.
"Little Junior Brother, you can enter the other three mission sites the same way. Likewise, if you want to go to the smaller mission halls on the other peaks, you enter like this too. But there's one thing to note here. Our tokens allow us to freely enter the Spirit Plant Garden, Spirit Food Garden, and Spirit Beast Garden on our own peak. Disciples from other peaks, however, can only enter this Mission Hall with their tokens. Only after accepting a corresponding mission can they enter the respective mission site. Of course, their own tokens grant them free access to all mission sites on their own peaks."
Li Yan understood the meaning of this. Simply put, the tokens of one's own peak had priority.
The two walked into the bamboo house. The Mission Hall was truly vast, about seventy to eighty zhang in size, and divided into two areas: one for accepting missions and one for submitting them. The two didn't rush forward. Lin Daqiao continued to explain things to Li Yan in a low voice, and Li Yan observed his surroundings as his Seventh Senior Brother spoke. After a short while, he had a clear grasp of the situation.
In the air above the center of each of the two areas floated a massive White Jade slab, about twenty zhang in size, with lines of glittering golden characters scrolling across its surface. These two great White Jade slabs corresponded to the list of available missions and the list of completed missions. The difference was that the slab for available missions was divided into three smaller sections, each corresponding to a different category of content. If there was too much content, the missions within that section would scroll. The slab for submitted missions, however, only displayed the names of the last one hundred missions that had just been turned in.
The missions on the great White Jade board were not only divided by category but also into single-person and multi-person missions. Once a single-person mission was accepted, the golden characters would turn gray, and it could no longer be taken. However, such a mission wasn't something one could hog for oneself so easily. Once a single-person mission was accepted, if it could not be completed, the person who took it had to compensate for the loss at its listed value, sometimes even several times over.
Multi-person missions had no such restriction. Anyone could accept them. A number behind the mission would be continuously updated to show how many people had taken it. For this type of mission, it was first come, first served, but the Spirit Stone reward was far lower than that of single-person missions.
Neither type of mission displayed the name of the person who accepted it, seemingly to protect some personal privacy. After all, many cultivators had their own special skills, which could often be discerned from their daily performance. If they were marked by someone with ill intentions, that person could deduce the characteristics of their cultivation arts and immortal techniques. Even among fellow disciples, this would be highly disadvantageous. Of course, this couldn't be hidden from the person who posted the mission, but the consensus in the cultivation world was to conceal as much as one could.
Whether accepting or submitting a mission, one had to enter a thirty-zhang area below the White Jade slab. These two areas were isolated by a formation, making it impossible to see what was happening inside. The moment a person entered these areas, they would be enveloped in a layer of white light. This light flashed with a blinding glare, making it impossible to look directly and distinguish who was who within the formation.
To accept a mission, one only needed to use their Divine Sense to connect with the mission on the White Jade board above. Disciples from other peaks would have two beams of light shot into them: one was the mission identifier, and the other was a temporary pass to enter the mission site. Disciples from the home peak, however, would only receive the mission identifier.
When submitting a mission, one would also use their Divine Sense to connect with the mission on the White Jade board. For disciples from other peaks, three beams of light would shoot toward the mission: one was the mission identifier, one was the poster's confirmation of completion, and the last was to retract the temporary pass to the mission site. When a home peak disciple submitted a mission, only two identifiers were retracted.
And so, after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Li Yan had a firm grasp of how to accept and submit missions. The Mission Hall on Lord Lao Peak operated in the same way, but he had heard that it was six or seven times larger than this one, with the two White Jade slabs being a hundred zhang in size. It made sense; with over ten thousand cultivators in the sect, the volume of missions there would naturally be enormous.
After explaining all this, Lin Daqiao thought for a moment and added a final piece of advice. "Little Junior Brother, you can take missions for watering Spirit Plants or preparing food for demonic beasts. As for raising demonic beasts, you should avoid those for now. The demonic beasts here are a bit special. It's not convenient to explain the reason right now; there's a sect prohibition on it. Only those who take the mission will know, and they are forbidden from speaking about it afterward. You'll understand why in the future. If you want to take this type of mission, you should wait until you've reached at least the tenth layer of Qi Condensation before you can barely manage it."
Hearing this, Li Yan's heart stirred. He once again looked up at the White Jade slab for accepting missions. He had been listening to Lin Daqiao's explanation and trying to understand, so he hadn't really looked at it carefully.
He scanned the massive White Jade board and easily found the section for raising demonic beasts. There were currently nine entries, each with a note attached, such as: 'Approach with caution if below the tenth layer of Qi Condensation,' or 'Do not accept if below mid-stage Foundation Establishment,' and so on. It seemed the demonic beasts raised on Little Bamboo Peak were indeed somewhat peculiar.